Newton’s First Law of Motion

An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion…

I’ve never been good at staying in one place.  My parents always told me that the world keeps on moving even if you try to stay still, so you’ll never be in the same place for long.  I can honestly say that I’ve never been fully unpacked in any place I have lived since I was ten years old.  Home isn’t where your stuff is; it’s where you can relax and spend time with the people (and even things) you love.

In this house, it is also where my kitchen is.

Remember how lovely it is?

I have documented the process of creating my dream kitchen. I may have said it was finished in January, but I meant it was *finished (as long as you don’t look up or down or over there)*.  The ceiling was only just painted — four times — over the past fortnight (thanks, Mum!), and Dad and I just got the door frame in place last week.  It needs a few pieces of quarter-round around the bases of the cabinets, and we’ll be in business.

I get to put into action all those fancy words of wisdom.  We’re moving on, selling up, shipping out — and soon.  We need to be at-least-a-little settled in our new locale by 1 September.

Why are we going?  Well, mostly because we can.  With all the work we’ve done in this house, we should be able to sell it fairly quickly.  We don’t have any other financial obligations in Belfast.  We don’t have children who we have to pull out of school.  We’ll only be a couple of hours’ travel away from our friends and family here.  I know CB worries about taking me away from the home we’ve created here — it’d be much easier to stay — but I’m not worried.  I first moved here almost six years ago with nothing but a suitcase; I didn’t know a single person in Northern Ireland when I arrived, and I’ve built a life here.  I have a family here.  Family doesn’t just stop being family because you don’t live in the same town.

Ho hum.

Where are we going?  CB got a job at Plymouth University in Plymouth, England.  It’s more secure than his current job, and it will open more opportunities for funding and research.  From all appearances, it’s a lovely place.  When CB was interviewing there, he sent me pictures of him having pizza on a boardwalk and riding the train up a cliff-filled coastline.  They seem to have a bit of a gluten-free community, and there’s even a River Cottage restaurant to try to spy my husband’s TV chef/farming doppelgänger.  They grow apples by the tonne there, so maybe I’ll get inspired and give this guy a permanent spot in my new kitchen [note: I just saw that post mentions how I’ll never stop moving!].  It’s much further south, so we won’t have any of this freezing rain in June mess we’re experiencing right now, and our little sunbathing queen will have more cause for celebration.

I call her Squints McGhee.

So … know anyone that wants to buy a house?

Kitchen Progress, Life Progress

Things are happening so quickly!  The giant week (which is so giant that it actually encompasses 9 days) kicks off Friday when I see Van the Man receive his Freedom of the City.  Two days later, I’ll be taking in They Might Be Giants in my third country — this time, only down the street, no airplanes required!  Thursday brings the Lumineers, and Saturday is the Doctor Who 50th anniversary.  Somewhere in the middle, I have a sewing class to attend, parents to retrieve from Dublin, tons of crocheting to do (speaking of crocheting, if that’s your thing and you want to order for Christmas, you need to get on that.  Really.), and, oh, some houseWORK to tackle.

Clearly, one of my favourite parts of the process is the WORK.

So much to do — should I say ‘so much to be done’ — but it’ll all end with a brand new shiny kitchen for me to mess up during Thanksgiving.  The first crumb will be a tiny heartbreak, but then I know I’ll dive right in and make it my own.  And my own kitchen is nothing short of a workshop.

The current state of the kitchen — yes, new plaster is meant to look like that.

Radio Silence

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and there’s a reason.  This is my kitchen:

Yes, that’s a bottle of Pepsi and a package of string cheese. No, I’m not ashamed.

Well, if I’m honest, THIS is my kitchen:

Doesn’t everyone keep mattresses on their countertops?!

You see, CB and I bought a house.  A big house that requires a lot of work.  What it means is that I have not properly cooked in close to a month.  Since I don’t have as much as a stove, I have also tried not to think too much about food in general.  We are working too much, not eating enough, and not sleeping enough.  It’s taking a toll, but it’s our house.  Every wall that is plastered and painted makes me fall more and more in love with it.

What I do have is a date for my kitchen installation!  About a week before Thanksgiving, the final touches will be finished.  I get to demolish the existing kitchen, too, which is just too much fun to me.  As soon as things get moving, I’ll start updating again, I promise.  Until then, send me all the good surviving-the-mess vibes you can manage!